Brazen bodies with black charcoal, ink, leaf, and poetry, and otherwiseordinary earthly materials are a few of the tools Carlos Betancourtuses in the process of metaphorically tatooing restless models. These markings are presented in monumental banners in which the artistdocuments his fixartion with the symbols of the Pre-Colonial Tainoculture from the Caribbean and the contemporary world ofadvertising. At first glance both wolds mingle and flirt in thesurface of the glossy banners but closser inspection reveals a clash ofopposites, a forceful union of the irreverence associated with theadvertising and the humble grace of ancestral symbols.

Betancout's existential tantrums are channeled through a hybrid text hewrites and draws obsessively on the human body. Although it hasthe form, feel and rhythm of poetry, the organic text functions as thedocumentaiton of an action- a sadist gesture or intimate argument thatthe viewer will never be able to fully read or understand but onlyexperience. Such is the cas in "Los Iluminados" 2003 ( fromInterventions in Wynwood I), where a crestfallen brunette standsunclothed, completely covered in black scribbles but for her left handwhcih has been rubbed with blue dust. In company of the model are3 sarcastic looking and odd Christmas adornments, illuminated fromtheir hollow insides, whose attire and posture resemble choirboys.

Another photo in the series has a woman, looking tired and lonesome,sitting still on a wooden bench and staring at the infinite whilelistening to the muted singing statues. As part of the scribblesthat cover her pale leg one can read: "Comandante Guevara". Not much of El Che is meant as a political reference but as conscious,melancholic effort to trace his genealogical tree that spans fromPuerto Rico to Cuba and Miami. By tracing his roots and his historyBetancourt makes a mark, or pees his territory as dogs so, leaving thescent of his cultural backgorund, his experience, taste and self.

Violence in product placement and the assault of the senses by excessin visuals are tactics that Betancourt uses to perfection, not only inthe epic scope of his work and quality in the image but in thesubordination of his models, as seen in the series "Coupon Key, RobertMiller 2003, (Bob's Storm). Here, a male model lays face down ona dirty sidewalk, in a pose reminiscent of Ana Mendieta's rapeincident; the male model seems to have been submitted toirreverent, almost sadomachoist scribbling and styling of Betancourt.

While the artist dresses his models, willing or not, in his signaturestyle, other photo series have him as the subject. Example is"Untitled", 2003-04( next to natural Semi, from the Vieques and RinconSeries), where the artist lays bare on top of a waterfall, naked butfor dirty tennis shoes to which the gaze is drawn. The rapture of thegaze by such ordinary object amidst the pure environment sends signalsto the viewwer that point to a campy and eerie reading of thepiece. Here the artist performs the role of afflictedcontemporary cult leader, shaman, leper, messiah or new age exorcist inwaiting. Just like the members of the "New Millennium Cult," thatso in famously awaited the Second Coming of the Christ in blackuniforms and Nike shoes.

Dirty and obsessive, Betancourt's colonization of his identity and thatof others, sets Betancourt apart form the cliched Latino aestheticbased on the glorification of the body and its relationship to thenatuire and self. Instead, and more like Cindy Sherman, VitoAcconci and Vanessa Beecroft, Betancourt glorifies himself as a productand as a signature.